With Lantus, it's not as important that they eat before the shot....as long as they're willing to eat, it usually doesn't "kick in" for 2-3 hours, so most of us Test/Feed/Shoot, all in 5-10 minutes
You want to Test (to make sure he's high enough), Feed (to make sure he's not sick and at least willing to eat) and Shoot....most of us shoot while their head is in the food bowl
Now for the first 5-7 days, you're going to be "filling the depot", so you may not see the full impact of the dose until the depot is full (although some cats will respond on their 1st shot)...Think of the depot like a "timed release" medication.....out of each shot, a little goes to work now and the rest goes "in the depot" and is released slowly over the rest of the cycle....but until the depot is full, it won't release the amount of insulin equal to the dose (does that make sense?)
ECID, but we've seen a lot of times when the +2 can act like a crystal ball as to where they're going later.
If the +2 is about the same as the PS, it's usually going to be a pretty normal cycle....with a gradual decrease in numbers to the nadir and then gradually back up to the next PS
If the +2 is higher than the PS, that can be an indication that you're starting a bounce and those are the cycles where it's probably safe to take a pokey break
If the +2 is lower than the PS, that's your early warning that he might be going a lot lower later in the cycle, so those are the cycles you want to get more tests in
Now in some cats, the +3 is a better indicator.....testing will help to nail down which one Elmo is though
Plan on sprinkling tests in different point throughout the cycle....one day do +3,+6,+9, another day do +2,+5,+8....etc.....if you see a big blank white space on your spreadsheet, that's a good time to grab a test!!
Most of us feed mini-meals but this is another one of those ECID things.....some cats do fine getting small meals throughout the cycle (up to +10 anyway...you want to take food up after that) and some cats do better if they don't get much in the way of food after they nadir (it can "slam the brakes" on the insulin since it's already starting to wear off after nadir)....little pure protein snacks are OK if small meals cause problems after nadir (like baked chicken)
....which syringe is it ??
